LIVE VIDEO ? Congress investigates the spending practices of the General Services Administration (GSA) following a $823,000 conference at a Las Vegas resort.
By Becky Bratu, msnbc.com
At a congressional oversight hearing Tuesday, Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., ?said he was prepared to systematically pull apart the General Services Administration to the point where "we will make it a question to the American public whether the GSA is needed at all."
?I'm here to tell you the buck stops here,? said Denham, who heads the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. "Where crimes have been committed, people will go to jail."
The hearing focused on the GSA's use of taxpayer money in the wake of recent revelations of lavish spending for a Las Vegas conference in 2010 that cost $823,000. It was the second day of hearings in the matter.
Ex-GSA head apologizes for $823,000 Las Vegas spending spree
Rep. John L. Mica, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said that while the GSA's wasteful spending in Las Vegas is "appalling," it is only the tip of the iceberg.?
?The Republican?congressman from Florida?added that he and Denham have been discussing whether the GSA's culture of squandering can be purged or whether the agency -- "our government's landlord" -- should be replaced.
The GSA, which?manages federal properties, is also being investigated for how resources were spent on other outings and conferences, including trips to Hawaii, Atlanta, Ga., and Napa, Calif., and an intern conference in Palm Springs, Calif., attended by 150 people.?
In his opening statement, Bob Peck, former head of the agency's public building department, said the Las Vegas conference was an "aberration," and most conferences he attended were not lavish. He said he paid for some food out of his pocket in Las Vegas.
Peck also offered a personal apology and said he would not shirk responsibility.
Martha Johnson, who resigned this month as head of the GSA, apologized Monday in a different oversight hearing for the way the money was spent. Five other officials were placed on administrative leave after GSA Inspector General Brian Miller reported that lavish spending was an accepted part of the agency's culture.
The official at the center of the scandal, Region 9 Public Building Regional Commissioner Jeffrey Neely, was not present at the Tuesday hearing.
"Mr. Neely is not with us today. ... We had requested that he be with us," Mica said, noting his absence.?"I guess the only way we'll get to see him is in a video in the hot tub" -- referring to a widely circulated photo showing the former GSA official relaxing in his hotel room during the Las Vegas conference.?
"This guy set up a fiefdom," subcommittee member Timothy Walz, D-Minn., later added.
On Monday, Neely?repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent during a hearing by the?House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
In a memo included in the inspector general's report, Neely ? who hosted a $2,700 party at the conference ? allegedly wrote, "I know I'm bad ... but why not enjoy it while we can? It ain't gonna last forever."
Miller told the subcommittee the daily spending allowance per person in Las Vegas was $71 for meals, with $12 intended for breakfast. The report revealed that more than $40 per person was spent on breakfast, the subcommittee said. Employees got around spending limits by staging "fake awards," for which costly foods were purchased, Miller said. These awards were a "running joke" in the agency, he added.
?We smelled a rat and we asked for data," Mica said, adding that the subcommittee's previous attempts to investigate the GSA were delayed and "got stonewalled time and time again."
The subcommittee commended current GSA deputy administrator Susan Brita, who had asked Miller to investigate the 2010 conference.
"It could have been swept under the table had it not been for one person," Mica said.
In an email to Peck last year, Brita said conference expenses for a clown suit, bicycles used for a team-building exercise, and a mind-reader, among other things, were not justifiable.
Brita told the subcommittee it is not clear whether the excessive spending culture spread to the entire agency beyond Region 9.
?The culture of an organization is where it all starts," Walz said. "That is the piece that needs to be changed."
The GSA is made up of 11 regions.
?I think we?d be very na?ve not to see this in other regions,? Walz said.
The hearing revealed a lack of oversight for Neely, who also served as acting regional administrator. His only direct supervisor was Peck.
More than three hours into the hearing, Denham said investigations will continue into what he called a ?culture of fraud, waste corruption, cover-ups.?
NBC News' Stacey Klein and msnbc.com's M. Alex Johnson contributed to this report.
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